Montpelier Raid Ruled Against

When Montpelier Tax Consultants on the Isle of Man were raided as part of a HMRC investigation it sent shockwaves around the offshore scene. How could an offshore company be (in effect) raided by HMRC? As it turns out they couldn’t!
Montpelier have successfully challenged the search warrant that was used. The raid, which Montpelier blames for the loss of 40 jobs was under a warrant that has now been quashed by the courts.

Montpelier in a media release described the raid as “heavy handed and wholly inappropriate”. They have also expressed their disappointment with the Manx government in allowing UK HMRC officers to be sworn in as special constables for a day. It was perhaps this element that most had the finance sector baffled. The company will now have their legal fees covered by the police and will be looking to sue for unlawful entry, search and seizure of property.

We’ll have to wait and see how this one finally turn out but for now it is surely a big embarrassment for the Manx government but of no consolation to those that lost their jobs.